The Election Commission has taken multiple initiatives in order to ensure that foreign observers and journalists are able to enter the country without any hindrance during the 11th National Elections.
On Sunday (Nov 25) the EC met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information and the home ministry to brief them regarding the matter.
Sources at the meeting confirmed that the related offices are to ensure the following: provide on-arrival visa to foreign observers and journalists, opening help desk at the airport as well as give police clearance to them as soon as possible.
The information ministry has been instructed to open an information cell in order to help the foreign visitors. During the meeting, it was decided that the EC will issue letters to Bangladeshi Missions abroad to help interested observers.
Moreover, the EC will issue invitation letters to two representatives each from the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBOSA), an election commission forum of the SAARC countries.
Delegates from India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be invited as foreign observers and the EC will bear their cost for the visit.
“The Commission has given instructions so that the foreign observers and journalists have no problem in entering the country. They have also been briefed on the policy,” EC Joint Secretary SM Asaduzzaman told Bangla Tribune.
Although there were a significant amount of foreign observers during the 8th and 9th Parliamentary Elections, it was an entirely different story during the 10th. During the polls in 2014 only four foreign observers were present in the country.
Commission sources said that even this time not a lot of observers have shown interest and the European Union has already informed the government that it will not be sending observers this year.